Press conference to speak out about lack of army medical treatment

Soldiers and Family Members Call Press Conference to Speak Out Against Failure of the Army to Provide Necessary Medical Treatment

Who: Active duty soldiers, spouses and other family members

When: Saturday, June 5, 2010, 10:00 a.m.

Where: Under the Hood Café and Outreach Center

17 College Street (@ West Avenue G), Killeen, Texas

Killeen, Texas – As the U.S. heads into its tenth year of combat in Afghanistan and continued combat missions in Iraq, the number of soldiers facing multiple redeployments and resulting physical and mental health problems is reaching unprecedented levels.

Here are just some of the health problems facing soldiers today:

Army suicide rates are at their highest levels since the army started tracking this statistic.1

A recent study conducted by Stanford University found that rates of (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) PTSD among service members deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan may be as high as 35%. With two million troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, we can expect that an astounding 700,000 veterans will suffer from PTSD.2

Army field studies have shown that more than 10% of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have suffered at least one concussion or brain injury, the vast majority of those from exposure to a homemade bomb or improvised explosive device. Five percent to 15% of mild Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) patients develop lasting problems with concentration, short-term memory, fatigue and chronic headaches.3

These are sobering statistics, but soldiers and families are increasingly finding that the Army is doing little to address these and other health issues soldiers face. In fact, right here in FortHood, the Army is violating its own regulations by training soldiers for deployment despite their non-deployable status.

In an effort to call attention to this mounting problem, a group of military family members and soldiers has scheduled a press conference to speak out against combat training for soldiers with a no-deployment profile, and for the Army’s lack of medical assistance and support. The conference is scheduled for Saturday, June 5, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. at Under the Hood Café and Outreach Center, 17 College Street, Killeen, Texas.

2 Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (2009, September 15). Iraq Troops’ PTSD Rate As High As 35 Percent, Analysis Finds. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 28, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/09/090914151629.htm